Enriching faith and family

Doing Laundry with Jesus

This week, our family attended the communal penance service at our church. You would have thought that I asked the kids to give up their entire summers, as upset as they were about the prospect of celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation. Their objections ran from – “It’s been a long day” and “I have too much homework” to “I have to practice my trombone” and “But we’ll miss dessert!” But when it came down the crux of the matter, they were just anxious about confessing their sins. Their objections finally turned to: “But I don’t remember what to say” and “What if the priest remembers my sins” to “Why do we have to confess to someone anyway – can’t we just tell God we are sorry?” And their concerns echoes our own fears about this beautiful sacrament.

It’s never fun to admit to yourself, much less others, that we have done wrong, that we have sinned. But Christ died for us – it is through his sacrificial blood washing over our souls that they come out a gleaming white! Unlike our own laundry when we accidentally add a red sock to a load of whites, turning it all red. Adding Christ’s blood to our own souls washes them white and sinless.

You still have a week to make it to Reconciliation. One more week to wash your soul with Jesus. Check out your church’s confession schedule for this last week and do some laundry!